


Summer Camp

by N_Chu4Ever



Category: Speed Racer: The Next Generation (Cartoon)
Genre: BETCHA DIDN'T EXPECT MY NEXT WORK TO BE SPEED RACER TNG DIDJA, Help, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, also Connor's canon spelling SUCKS so he gets to be Connor, and I have no regrets, and like part of season 1, gay and stupidly fluffy, nothing inappropriate obviously because these kids aren't legal and also that's just Weird, that's it that's the fic, this is before season 2 obviously, well guess what this is Kaz's fault
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:34:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28852140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/N_Chu4Ever/pseuds/N_Chu4Ever
Summary: Racer Academy goes on a midterm break, since the virtual track is once again down and half of the buildings have been badly damaged. I blame a hurricane. Regardless, Zile Zazic generously offers to fund an all-expenses paid trip to a resort in Malibu, California, with the option to go explore Los Angeles. With the beaches beautiful and the weather genuinely perfect, it’s the perfect way for Speed Racer Jr., his friends Connor and Lucy, and his brother X, to relax from the chaos of the past few weeks. No, that’s genuinely the plot. Zile’s taking a holiday to think of new plans. Timeline: Connor got over his weird crush on Annalise, but Speed Sr. hasn’t come back. Yes, the hurricane missed Malibu. Also, might have accidentally made Racer Academy run on an Australian school schedule, because of the whole Earth Day debacle and also the need to make it, well, SUMMER. The gang will get their big break over winter.
Relationships: Conor/Speed Racer Jr, The Mach 6 team
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kazutoes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kazutoes/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I blame Kazutoes partially for the inspiration of this monster of a fic, and I will continue to blame her for the rest of time <3

The assembly had been called as soon as the damage from Hurricane Rosie had been assessed, and already students were talking among themselves. Rosie had been pretty bad to the school, destroying several of the main buildings and damaging the portals to the virtual track. Repair crews were already on the repairs and replacements — thankfully, the smaller school supplies had been shifted underground before the hurricane arrived, so replacements mostly applied to the desks and chairs — but it was clear that the whole place was a mess. Headmaster Spritle, though, soon tapped at his microphone to grab everyone’s attention.  
  
“If anything, students, I’m just glad nobody was hurt in the hurricane,” he sighed. “As you may know, several important facilities were damaged or even destroyed during Hurricane Rosie. Now, while we may have the supplies for class, it’s clear that none of us will be able to focus. To make matters worse, the virtual track and several cars are seriously damaged. I can only name three that _didn’t_ sustain damage, and that’s because their bunkers were either reinforced or they were evacuated ahead of time.” Spritle was referring to the Mach 6, whose shelter and accompanying dorm had been seriously reinforced by Connor (he’d reinforced the whole building, actually), X’s Shooting Star (also reinforced) and Annalise’s car, whatever it was called. “Now, because of this, we have decided that a midterm break will begin tomorrow. Now, we thought long and hard about what we’ll _do_ during this break, and thankfully Mr. Zazic has given us the answer. Zile, I’ll allow you to inform them.”  
  
“Thank you, Headmaster.” Speed, in the crowd and a little shaken up like everyone else, noted that even the usually devious Zile looked a bit shaken up by the whole ordeal the campus had gone through. Surprisingly, he hadn’t even tried to get hold of the Mach 6 in the commotion. “Now, as most of you likely know, I am a rather rich man, which allows me to afford quite a number of things. I’ve decided, in order to get everyone to relax, that I will pay for the _entire campus_ to visit the Arabesque Resort in Malibu, California.” A cheer rang out among the students. Speed elbowed his brother X to get an answer  
  
“Arabesque Resort is the best resort in the country,” X hissed in reply. “It’s _known_ for its beautiful pools, excellent restaurants, _everything.”_  
  
“So why is _Zile_ offering for _us_ to go?” Speed asked. His brother just shrugged — even he didn’t know.  
  
“Now, I know that many of you are probably wondering how _much_ I’ll pay,” Zile continued. “I’m proud to say that I can cover any and all expenses asked by the resort, provided of course you bring shopping money if you wish to go explore Los Angeles.” Another cheer rang up.  
  
“Something tells me, little bro, that he’s not planning anything,” X grinned. Still a little sceptical but more than ready to just lie down somewhere and sleep, Speed chose to believe him.

\----

Four hours later, several ZZI jets landed outside the campus. It was too far to fly to Phoenix, and certainly impractical to drive to Malibu, so Zile had paid for the jets to transport everyone to the resort once everyone was ready to leave the next day. After all, he explained, he’d already bought out the resort for the next two weeks. Speed, deciding to give up his scepticism for the time being and just enjoy the holiday, soon found himself packing his bags.  
  
“Hey Connor, what are you going to do in Malibu?” he asked.  
  
“I think I might go to Los Angeles, go to Hollywood and try and glimpse the stars,” his roommate and best friend cried dramatically, before giggling and adding, “Well, that, and I might just burn to a crisp at the pool.” Speed just smiled at his friend’s adorable nature.  
  
“Sounds like a good idea to me. That hurricane was a real _menace.”_  
  
“You gonna bring the Mach 6?”  
  
“Yeah, I might as well, since it didn’t get damaged in the storm.” A knock at the door interrupted them, and Speed opened it to find his uncle and headmaster Spritle, along with X. “Hey Uncle Spritle, X,” he greeted.  
  
“I won’t be going on vacation until the second week, so this money is for you, Connor and Lucy to buy whatever you want in California until I get there,” Spritle chuckled, and handed over a credit card. “Well, to be fair, with how much is on it, it’ll probably also be enough for _after_ I get there. X already has one.”  
  
“Oh _wow!_ Thanks, Uncle Spritle!”  
  
“I also brought some spare clothes in case you go swimming before you buy any more,” X grinned, and passed over a pair of swim shorts and a rash shirt.  
  
“Thanks, X.”  
  
“Don’t mention it.”  
  
“We get _money?!”_ Connor gasped.  
  
“Connor, my dad _is_ Speed Racer,” Speed laughed.  
  
“I know, but he was so humble that I forget he made a lot of money!” With that, Speed waved off his brother and uncle, before Connor continued, “Unlike _Zile…_ Speaking of, do you think he’s gonna try anything down there?”  
  
“Surprisingly, I don’t think he _is,”_ Speed shrugged. “He looked genuinely shaken up by the hurricane. I think he might just be going there to lie down and sleep.”  
  
“Okay, fair enough, but let’s keep an eye on him!” Speed just snorted at that.

\----

That night, at supper, everyone was assigned a number, which would indicate which plane they flew on. Since campus had roughly two hundred fifty students and, though Speed hadn’t met most of them, multiple staff, it was a necessary measure. Each plane could carry fifty-five people, and Speed was thankfully assigned on the same flight with Connor and Lucy.  
  
“Thank god — I think I would’ve gone _insane_ if I’d ended up on Annalise’s flight,” Lucy chuckled, as they ate supper at the cafeteria. “Still, I wonder why Zile agreed to this.”  
  
“I honestly don’t think he’s up to anything this time,” Speed shrugged. “You saw how he behaved at the assembly. He looked _ragged,_ and trust me when I say _I know ragged.”_  
  
“So what are _you_ gonna do, Lucy?” Connor interrupted, adding, “Are you going to eat your pudding?” Lucy slapped his hand away with a grin, before she sighed and admitted contentedly,  
  
“I think I’m going to sit out on the beach and sketch out the waves.”  
  
“Well, if you need someone to drive you anywhere, I’m bringing the Mach 6 with me,” Speed grinned. “I think, after I sit in the pool and turn into a prune, I’m going to go shopping. It’s getting pretty hot here, after all, and I don’t think this outfit will cut it anymore.”  
  
“Fair enough. Connor, get your own pudding,” Lucy deadpanned.  
  
“Awwww…” Connor whined. Speed rolled his eyes, before sliding his pudding down to his friend.  
  
“Take mine,” he laughed. “You _know_ I hate this stuff!”  
  
“Yayyyy! Thank you!” Speed and Lucy both just laughed fondly at their friend’s antics, and soon Connor joined them, before Chim-Chim _whirred_ next to them as he attempted to simulate someone on a beach and made them laugh even harder. As they did so, though, Speed swore he felt his heart skip a beat, but he ignored it. It was probably nothing.

\----

So that was how two hundred and fifty students and who knew how many staff members lined up in five different sections, policed by at least one teacher and a few others. Speed, Connor, and Lucy had ended up on the third flight, or Jet 3, so they had to wait for the first two jets to leave first. X was on Jet 2, so the three younger teens talked to him while they waited. Annalise, as one of the cheerleaders and Zile’s daughter, had ended up on Jet 1, so she wasn’t around to complain.  
  
“I have _never_ been to Malibu, but Uncle Spritle said it’s _beautiful,”_ X gushed, as he showed a picture from his and Speed’s uncle’s scrapbook. “Granted, it was some time ago, but the comparison shots are just as good!”  
  
“Oh _wow,_ look at those beaches!” Lucy exclaimed.  
  
“Is that a shot of a _supermodel?”_ Speed asked, pointing at a gorgeous woman.  
  
“Oh no, that’s Mom. I think Dad took that photo.”  
  
“Oh! Oh she looked _good!”_  
  
_“Jet 2, you are ready to board.”_  
  
“Aaaaand I’m gone. Bye, fuckers,” X grinned, before he saluted and stood up with the rest of his group.  
  
_“Jet 3, you will be ready to board in one hour.”_  
  
“An hour...” Connor groaned.  
  
“It could be worse. We could be in Jet 5,” Lucy said with a laugh, gesturing back at the students who would be riding on the last jet.  
  
“That _is_ true…”  
  
“Man, I don’t think I’ve ever been on a plane,” Speed realised. “My orphanage wasn’t rich enough to justify a flight, so I got driven here.”  
  
“And you’re not nervous?” Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
“Nah. I’ve got you guys.”  
  
“I’m dying of feels!” Connor declared dramatically, before he and Lucy wrapped Speed in a brief hug. For a moment, seemingly out of the blue, and for the second time that day, Speed felt like his heart suddenly _stammered,_ but he had no idea where it came from. The hug would’ve gone on longer, but someone began to _sing_ behind them, and Lucy groaned,  
  
“Great, the _choir’s_ on our jet.”  
  
“The choir’s decent, though, so I can deal with that,” Speed shrugged, deciding to ignore whatever had just happened in favour of listening to the choir.

\----

Not long after the choir got through their third song, Jet 3 was called and everyone began walking out towards the gates, where the Mach 6 was being loaded into the cargo bay. Spritle, knowing how important the Mach 6 was to Speed, was supervising it, to make sure nothing _funny_ happened. He saluted to the students as they boarded, and most of them, including what X (surprisingly, considering Connor was the Speed Racer fan among them) had termed the New Racer Trio, saluted back.  
  
Once they actually got inside, Speed ended up claiming the window seat on the left side of the plane, though Connor easily crammed around him with Chim-Chim to see out as well, while Lucy comfortably sat down in her aisle seat. Despite having only fifty-five seats, the jets were spacious enough that everyone got space. Behind them, the choir was starting up, and soon Lucy recognised the music.  
  
“You know, I may not be the biggest fan of the choir, but they have good taste,” she admitted.  
  
“Oh hey, that’s… _Wicked,_ right? That musical based on _Wizard of Oz?”_ Speed asked.  
  
“Yeah. How do you know that?”  
  
“The guy next to us is _obsessed_ with it,” Connor shrugged, and Chim-Chim bleeped in annoyed agreement. “He’s even more of a snob about that musical than I am about Speed Racer. I didn’t even know that was _possible.”_  
  
“I like the music, even if he is a snob,” Speed grinned. 

For a few moments, there was minor commotion, as everyone finished loading up, before one of the two flight attendants aboard appeared at the front of the plane.  
  
“Good day, students,” she greeted brightly. “You are Jet 3 of 5, and thus we’ll be departing within the next ten minutes. I’m here to give you your safety briefing, as well as explain the course we’ll be taking. Now, the reason we’re split up by an hour is because we don’t wish to overload the airport upon arrival. Once we’ve arrived in Los Angeles, however, you are asked that you disembark and, if you have a car, you load it up and follow the rental motorcade to the resort. Now, for the safety briefing…” The briefing was precise but easy to follow, and for that Speed was grateful, because he genuinely had had no idea what to do in the _extremely unlikely_ case of emergency. Soon, the course was announced as well, and the plane began to taxi.  
  
“Oh wow, this feels weird,” Speed muttered. “I’ve seen planes fly before, but I’ve never been in one, and now I’m starting to feel nervous.”  
  
“Do you want to swap with Connor?” Lucy asked.  
  
“Oh, no, I’ll be okay. I won’t panic, I promise.”  
  
“Well, if you _do_ need to change seats, I’m happy to do so,” Connor promised sincerely, prompting a smile from his friends.  
  
“Thanks, Connor.” Even though he said he wouldn’t panic, Speed still stretched out his hand and both of his friends grabbed it as a form of reassurance, along with Chim-Chim after a moment. Speed felt his cheeks heat up slightly when he felt Connor’s hand, but couldn’t figure out why. Five minutes later, after lining up with the runway, the plane shot forwards, until it took to the skies and left Racer Academy far behind it.

He shouldn’t have been worried, Speed realised, after the jet levelled out, and drinks and snacks were handed out, despite the short flight. It was about three hours to LAX, so everyone, including Speed, soon relaxed into their seats.  
  
“Thanks guys,” he whispered to his friends.  
  
“Anytime,” Connor grinned.  
  
“Always,” Lucy added, also grinning.  
  
“Can I get you three anything?” the flight attendant interrupted. “We don’t have a full meal service due to the welcoming dinner and the short flight, but we do have soda, hot chocolate, tea, coffee, and a small variety of snacks. You may choose two snacks.”  
  
“Uh… Do you have Mountain Dew?” Connor asked.  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“Make that two Mountain Dews, then,” Speed grinned.  
  
“And a Diet Coke for me,” Lucy smiled. “What snacks do you have?”  
  
They all ended up getting cookies and crisps, and so settled in properly for the flight, Connor selecting a film about racing history on his tablet for them to watch. They’d left about midday, so they’d arrive at about 3PM. Speed was almost certainly looking forward to it.

**

It was very warm when they touched down, but then again it was August — it was _always_ warm in August, especially in Los Angeles. Most students loaded themselves into either rental cars or buses once they got through the TSA, but the New Racer Trio headed straight for the Mach 6, loading their bags mostly into the back and, after a coin toss, Lucy ending up back there with them.  
  
“You both suck,” she laughed, even as she strapped herself in.  
  
“Well, you lost the coin toss with Conner, and I’m the driver, so…” Speed shrugged, grinning back at his friends. “You all ready to go hit up that pool?”  
  
“Hell yes!” Connor cheered.  
  
“It sucks we’re not allowed to explore today, but we have two weeks to do that,” Lucy grinned, and they all high-fived.  
  
“Oh, by the way Speed, I _may_ have given the Mach 6 a temporary sunroof,” Connor added, and Speed raised an eyebrow, before he hit the switch Connor indicated and the roof partially slid down, exposing them all to the warm California air. Speed, even though they were still technically in the parking garage, stuck his head out of it.  
  
“Holy crap! This vacation is going to be _awesome!”_ he cheered.  
  
“We already knew that!” Lucy laughed, and soon all of them were laughing, while Chim-Chim did something smart and secured the luggage.

  


It took them some time to drive to Malibu, since they were part of a group and groups stuck together, but it was a beautiful drive, and eventually they arrived around four PM, checking in about that time with the Mach 6 (which, at Spritle’s insistence, would be kept under extreme security, much to the trio’s relief). It took them a further ten minutes to locate their swimwear before sending off their luggage with the porters, five to get changed, and then another five to find the _extremely huge_ pool and for Connor to just leap into the deep end.  
  
“YEEEEEHAAAAAAA!!!!” Speed charged after him in a weird attempt at a flip, yelling with equal excitement, while Lucy just rolled her eyes and turned to get in the shallow end, before she grinned mischievously and leapt after her friends.  
  
“Ugh, do you dweebs have to do _everything annoying?"_ complained a familiar voice, and all of them rolled their eyes.  
  
“It’s not just your pool, Annalise,” Lucy deadpanned.  
  
“If anything, it’s the resort’s pool. We’re just borrowing it,” Connor declared.  
  
“Hey! Annalise! Lighten up!” came _another_ familiar voice, just as a beach ball came flying over their heads and hit Annalise _just_ hard enough to knock her into the water. Once she emerged, spluttering, she yelled,  
  
“X! HOW COULD YOU?!” X, from where he was standing up in the hot tub, just _cackled_ before he sat down again. Speed knew for a fact that his brother still wasn’t comfortable with putting his face underwater since his near-drowning some months ago, so he was pleased to see he was at least _in_ some water. Trying to get his brother to have a _shower_ in the immediate aftermath had been _awful._  
  
“X, how’s the hot tub?” he called.  
  
“Warm,” X shrugged. “Probably _too_ warm, but I’ll go swimming later. How was the flight?”  
  
“Lame,” all three answered in sync.  
  
“Well, _comfortable_ but lame,” Lucy corrected.  
  
“Same on my end. Well, except for Jared and Jesse fighting over the window seat. They’re _still_ fighting over it, actually.” Indeed, the twins were arguing over the merits of who deserved the window seat, though it was clear from their tones of voice that they were having a lot of fun with it.  
  
“Have they been at that since they _got_ here?” Connor asked incredulously.  
  
“Try _all day long,”_ X grinned, and that made them laugh.

The pool itself was probably the _biggest_ recreational one Speed had ever seen, though to be fair he’d only seen three in his whole life. Like a lot of resort pools (he’d looked it up), it was asymmetrical, with wavy edges and with a view over the beach below, and with one of the curves forming the wall around the hot tub. Eventually, after the arrivals of Jets 4 and 5 and a few more hours of messing around in the pool (highlights included X pretending to be a cowboy while riding a pool noodle, Lucy staring out to the ocean they could see from the pool, and Speed and Connor managing to organise a _huge_ game of Marco Polo), one of the professors Speed didn’t know called out,  
  
“Alright, students, you’ve been out here long enough. You have two hours to be ready for dinner. Dry off completely before you come inside, and if you don’t feel comfortable changing in the changerooms, head back to your rooms!” People immediately started moving, Annalise complaining that her hair was a _wreck_ despite having tied it into a plait, and the trio ended up just grabbing their gear and heading for their rooms. Lucy had requested a room to herself (“Sorry, boys, you _never_ shut up.” “That’s fair.”), and Speed and Connor had requested a room for them to share, since Speed had no real experience sleeping alone (thanks orphanage) and Connor liked having more than just Chim-Chim with him.  
  
“I’ll see you two later,” Lucy waved, as the boys left the elevator on their floor.  
  
“See ya, Luce!” Speed called back.  
  
“We’ll pick you up later!” Connor added with a cheeky grin, and laughed when Speed whacked him over the head, also grinning.  
  
“C’mon, you dork, let’s hit the showers.”

After he finished showering, Speed gave up the bathroom to his friend, and as he looked through his clothes for an outfit, he took a moment to look around the suite, having been too busy to notice it properly when they’d come upstairs to shower. The bathroom was fairly ornate, made of very pretty porcelain and quartz and tiled with small blue and green squares styled like the ancient Romans’ frescoes, and with possibly the best shower Speed had ever had. The rest of the suite was equally beautiful, too, as well as multicultural in a certain way.  
  
Most of the room was painted in an almost white blue, with abstract, contrastingly red paintings that were apparently done by Californian artists (he read one of the plaques underneath) and pine wooden floors.  
  
The bedroom, separated from the rest of the suite by Japanese-style paper doors, with its cream walls painted to look like a traditional Japanese home held two large king-sized beds, big enough to hold both him and Connor _and_ Lucy and X, with an expensive-looking abstract painting on one end that turned into a _flatscreen TV,_ access to the hotel’s pneumatic tube delivery system (how rich did one resort have to be to be able to afford _pneumatic?!), and,_ finally, access to the balcony, affording some of the grandest views Speed had ever seen. Still hearing the shower next to him, Speed admitted to himself one thing: There was nobody he’d rather share this with than one of his best friends.

“Okay, do I wear that replica of your dad’s formal suit, or do I just wear what I normally wear, or do I wear something else?” Connor asked about an hour later, after they had both showered.  
  
“Uh…” Speed stalled, watching his still-shirtless friend browse through the clothes he’d brought.  
  
“You okay?”  
  
“Oh, yeah, sorry. Um… Hey, what was that outfit you wore last week?” Connor pulled out a fan-shirt he’d gotten some years ago.  
  
“This one?” he asked.  
  
“Yeah! That one! Wear that one!” Speed laughed. A few moments later, paired with the white jeans he wore with his Speed Racer cosplay, Connor looked well-dressed, but not by too much or too little. Speed, after a moment of deciding, picked out a black NASA shirt he had from one of the orphanage’s _very few_ field trips (he’d only gotten it in the last month before he left for the Academy, so it still fit) and some blue jeans. Though he didn’t notice it, Connor’s face went _bright red_ as Speed checked himself out in the mirror.  
  
“I could get used to seeing him like that,” the ginger whispered to Chim-Chim, who merely laughed.  
  
“Well, I think we’re both ready, but dinner’s not for another hour,” Speed commented, checking his watch. Spritle had given it to him upon his arrival at the school — it had been his father’s, as it turned out. The old thing still worked perfectly, so it ticked soundly on his wrist. “What should we do?” he continued.  
  
“I… have no idea,” Connor admitted.  
  
“Unpacking it is!” Speed just got a _groan_ from his friend, but he just laughed without any sympathy for him.

\----

An hour later, one of the teachers came around to make sure they were ready for dinner, and so the two of them (having unpacked their things and put everything away, with Chim-Chim helping after a while) headed down to the resort’s signature restaurant — the Arabesque All-Day. As promised by Zile, anything they ordered here was free, as long as they weren’t outlandish about it. Lucy, dressed in a simple red shirt and jeans, nodded approvingly as she met them.  
  
“Nicely done, boys,” she laughed. “You actually look like decent human beings.”  
  
“Shut up you,” both Speed and Connor scolded playfully, in the exact same tone. They flushed and glanced at each other, before bursting into giggles. Lucy just rolled her eyes.  
  
“You’re both dorks. Come on, we’d better get a table.” They quickly walked into the dining room, and soon found a table for four not too far into the restaurant. It was also conveniently close to the bathroom, since this was a buffet restaurant. The spare seat left was, funnily enough, taken up by X. X, in true X fashion, was wearing grey and black, though he’d replaced his usual grey tank top with an actual t-shirt for once.  
  
“Hey nerds,” he greeted. “Annalise is at her dad’s table, the twins are being nuisances, and quite frankly I needed some sanity and some good old fashioned pining.” They all raised an eyebrow, though both Speed and Connor sweated nervously. “No I will not elaborate.”  
  
“... Well, I’ve got to ask, how good of a view have we got?” Lucy changed the subject, much to the relief of her friends.  
  
“It’s amazing!” Speed gushed. “You can see all the way out across the Pacific!”  
  
“I saw a _huge_ cruise ship earlier while Speed was showering! It looked so _tiny_ from where I was, though!” Connor added.  
  
“Hey, I saw that too. Man, Malibu is gorgeous,” X declared.  
  
“Amen,” they all echoed, before there was a _tap-tap-tap_ on a microphone and they all turned to the front, where another professor Speed hadn’t met was standing.

“Good evening, students,” she greeted.  
  
“That’s Professor Hoshi Sato, she teaches linguistics,” Lucy whispered. Speed just nodded, before continuing to listen to Professor Sato.  
  
“Now, as Headmaster Spritle will not be joining us until next week, I have been given the authority to outline the rules you will be expected to follow, before we eat today,” the professor continued. There were a few groans from the audience, but otherwise everyone looked as though they were ready to listen. “The rules are as follows: No going against the law, such as drinking and smoking, no disorderly conduct, always follow any instructions you might be given of which there are _few…”_ The rules were laid out, one by one, and they all sounded pretty reasonable to the trio. The final rule was outlined as the most important:  
  
“If you are leaving the resort, always take at least one person with you. We trust you all to be able to defend yourselves, but if you feel uncomfortable, there will always be at least five staff members in Los Angeles and in Malibu that you can consult. Their phone numbers would have been added to your contacts earlier.” Even Jared and Jesse held up their contacts to prove that they had their teachers’ numbers.  
  
“Excellent. Now, I don’t want you all to feel as though we’re trying to restrict you from having fun. On the contrary: Mr Zazic has stated that this is a time of relaxation. If your relaxation is in books, the libraries in Los Angeles are beautiful. If your relaxation is in doing schoolwork, just ask a teacher.” There was a ring of laughter from everyone, and Professor Sato’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “These rules are for your safety, and for your safety alone. None of you, apart from perhaps the Racer brothers, will be recognised as students from the Academy, and even if you were, Jared and Jesse Deucey have _already_ racked up a number of humorous police reports, so we’re not as concerned about our reputation.” X had to hold back a snort of laughter at that. “Now, I will pass to Professor Winn to explain about the special events that will happen occasionally.”

Professor Winn, despite being confined to a wheelchair, was still dressed in a Hawaiian shirt. She rolled her eyes at the laughter she got, but started speaking regardless,  
  
“Greetings, students. As Professor Sato said, there will be a number of special events over the course of the next fourteen days. Some will be held here at the resort, some on the beach, some in Los Angeles, and some in Hollywood, within Los Angeles. For example, in four days, there will be a night beach party. Students will not be permitted to swim, as no lifeguards patrol the area at that time, but it is the one mandatory event that everyone must attend. Other events, such as hikes, a tour of Hollywood, or just a pool party are entirely voluntary. You are all essentially free to wander as soon as breakfast ends tomorrow, as long as you are back at the resort by ten o’clock. The exceptions to this rule are any movie premieres you are attending, in which a teacher will attend with you, or the aforementioned beach party. There will always be at least two staff at the resort at any time, but you are not permitted to just lounge in your room unless you have a prescribed medical condition, in which case how are you at Racer Academy? Regardless, I believe you are all hungry, so I will call each table up by their best driver, four tables at a time. Don’t worry, the food is replenished, and once everyone has their food, you may go back for seconds and even thirds if you’re hungry enough.”

The ‘Racer table’, as Winn called it, was called up fairly quickly, and soon everyone had an assortment of food on their plate. Speed, having gotten checked over for allergies, was trying a bit of seafood, while X ended up choosing lasagne, Lucy went for good old fried chicken, and Connor brought back a bit of everything!  
  
“Connor, there’s no way in hell you’re going to be able to eat that,” Lucy cackled, even as Connor made a healthy start on the food.  
  
“I know,” he muffled, swallowing when both Speed and Lucy whacked him. “Most of it is in case Speed tries to not eat enough again.”  
  
“Hey, bringing that up is a federal offence,” Speed complained, whacking his friend (and apparent crush) again. “I’m eating enough now!”  
  
“Says the man with two prawns and some chips on his plate,” Lucy raised an eyebrow.  
  
“I just want you to be healthy, like how the professors don’t want us to get into trouble,” Connor smiled, and Speed felt his heart swell so much he thought he’d kill himself with it. Eventually, he grinned and laughed,  
  
“Alright, you win. Pass over some food.”  
  
“Excellent! My plan worked!” Connor cackled, and they all burst into laughter.

\----

Some hours later, once dinner concluded and everyone was sent off to bed, Speed found he couldn’t sleep just yet.  
  
“Hey, Connor,” he called over quietly to the other bed, where his friend was lying down.  
  
“Hmm?” Connor responded, clearly not asleep either.  
  
“Are you doing anything tomorrow?”  
  
“Not anything exciting. Wanted to get ice cream, mostly, because there’s apparently this _really good spot_ that sells it.”  
  
“Well, I need new clothes according to both Uncle Spritle and X, so I figured I’d go shopping. Want to come with me, and we can grab ice cream afterwards?” There was a pause.  
  
“I’d like that,” Connor smiled after a moment. If Speed felt a flutter of butterflies in his stomach, he chose not to say anything about it, merely rolling onto his back and drifting off to sleep with a content feeling in his heart.


	2. Day 1

After breakfast (mostly pancakes) the next morning, and with a confirmation from Lucy that she was going to go sketch the waves down on the beach, the two teenagers loaded up into the Mach 6 and headed for Los Angeles, following behind the five staff members and several other students, all wishing to head to the city for some exploration. Speed and Connor, having decided earlier on to take on Hollywood with Lucy and possibly some more students, avoided the famous area, instead heading for one of the cheaper shopping districts. Speed didn’t want expensive gear, and since the ice cream place was here too, it made for a good place to spend the next few hours. It also, much to Connor’s amusement, had a barber.  
  
“It’s not that I don’t like your haircut — in fact I like it a _lot_ — I just wonder who you saw to _get_ it,” the ginger explained, as they passed the barber.  
  
“It was one of the sisters,” Speed groaned. “They didn’t want any of the kids to get lost trying to get them haircuts, so they handled it. They didn’t know how to properly do it, but I _liked_ mine, so I didn’t bother trying to fix it.” He glanced in a window. “Hmm, maybe I’ll get a new haircut…”

He ended up doing exactly that. Connor ended up looking through the clothes shop next door with Chim-Chim, and so initially didn’t see Speed’s new haircut until he felt Speed clasp him on the shoulder, turned, and promptly went into a gay panic.  
  
“Holy _shit!”_ he exclaimed.  
  
“That good, huh?” Speed laughed, shaking his new poofy hair everywhere. The barber had cut it in a way that reminded the teenager of his (terrible) bed hair, but not quite as horrendous. Connor ended up putting it in a (very cute) way he understood.  
  
“You look like a _movie star!”_ he cheered. “Oh man, Lucy and X are going to _flip!”_  
  
“Man, I can’t wait to show them. Do _you_ like it?”  
  
“Yeah! Hey, it’ll look good with new clothes!”  
  
“Oh yeah! That’s part of the reason I came here, after all!”  
  
“Hey, before we look, can I _please_ touch your hair?” Connor asked, sounding rather _nervous_ about the innocuous question.  
  
“Sure,” Speed grinned, and soon Connor was patting his hair, whispering,  
  
“It’s so _soft,”_ while Chim-Chim found it hilarious.

After Connor got over Speed’s new poofy hair, the two teenagers and Chim-Chim began looking around for new clothes. Speed, of course, was pretty desperate for new outfits, and Connor had _finally_ realised that he needed more clothes than his Speed Racer outfit and his basketball uniform. Or, more correctly, _more_ shirts — Spritle had inadvertently shown the fan several photos of the senior Speed when he was still a youth, mostly of his alternate outfits.  
  
While Connor didn’t have the money to afford a blazer for longer than twenty-four hours yet, he _did_ have enough money (okay, Speed ended up giving him money and whacking him when asked if he’d have to pay it back) to buy a number of cringe-worthy Hawaiian shirts, exactly three normal-looking shirts, and (much to his and Speed’s combined amusement) a meme shirt with a cat shooting lasers out of its eyes.  
  
Speed ended up getting a constellation hoodie, another meme shirt (this one with a cat destroying Tokyo like Godzilla), some more jeans, a Hawaiian shirt, some actual shorts, a couple of normal shirts, a pair of sandals, a pair of dark blue Converse, and a pair of loafers. After a moment, he also grabbed a pair of red socks, and paired those with the Converse, a dark blue polo, rolled-up jeans, and a backpack he grabbed after a moment of thought. Connor ended up wearing his meme shirt immediately, as well as getting some shorts and sneakers to pair them with. They also bought sun hats, which they put on immediately.

After they made their purchases, they left the items back in the Mach 6 and continued walking down the precinct. This particular precinct was actually really beautiful — it was a pedestrian-only zone, and someone had gone to the effort of putting plants as a form of shade across the rooftops, with colourful flower petals occasionally falling down. It made for a slightly less warm trip to the ice cream parlour and both were thankful for it. Eventually, though, they walked inside, and found Professor Aniskov... buying ice cream?  
  
“Yes, I’d like to get a large cup with the chocolate chip and candy floss flavours, and chocolate fudge and sprinkles on top.”  
  
“Professor Aniskov?” Speed asked, and their professor visibly _froze_ before he resumed his usual demeanour, turned around, and addressed them, though with a high-pitched voice,  
  
"Oh, uh, Mr Racer, Mr Jackson... You saw _nothing,_ understand?"  
  
“Yes, professor,” they both chorused, but as soon as Aniskov turned around to pay, they _both_ snickered a little. Soon enough, probably to avoid looking at the teenagers longer than he had to, Aniskov left with his dessert, and it was Speed and Connor’s turn to order.  
  
“Hello, you two, welcome to the Frozen Cone, what can I get for you?”  
  
“Um… Could I please get the cookies and cream sundae with Oreo pieces, chocolate fudge, and banana slices, please?” Speed asked.  
  
“And for you, sir?”  
  
“I’d like a boysenberry sundae with strawberry syrup, gummy bears, and strawberry slices, please,” Connor answered.  
  
“Alright then. If you two would like to take a seat, I’ll have these ready for you shortly,” the attendant smiled, and so the teenagers and Chim-Chim sat down at one of the booths in the diner-like parlour.

“We are _so_ telling Lucy about this!” Connor cackled, as they waited for their sundaes to be made.  
  
“X is going to _lose it_ , too,” Speed laughed. “He _loves_ gossip about the professors.”  
  
“I don’t know whether to feel bad for Aniskov or laugh!” They both burst into giggles at the ridiculousness of finding their strictest teacher buying an ice cream none of them would have expected him to buy, before the attendant called for them and Speed grabbed their sundaes.  
  
“Holy _smokes,_ I’m glad I’m hungry!” he laughed, revealing the _humongous_ sundaes. Connor’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets, whispering,  
  
“If I die today, I’ll die happy,” before digging into the sundae and letting out an almost _purr_ of contentment. “I love boysenberry, and they did it so _well,”_ he sighed.  
  
“May I try some?” Speed asked.  
  
“Of course!” With that, the elder teenager stuck his spoon in and got a small bit of ice cream. He let out a _trill_ upon tasting it.  
  
“Wowee, that’s _delicious!”_ He tasted his own sundae next, and promptly almost fell off his chair. “This is good too!”  
  
“Please may I try?” Connor begged.  
  
“Duh!” As soon as Connor tasted the cookies and cream, he clapped happily.  
  
“Oh my _god_ that’s good! No _wonder_ I got recommended this place!” he cheered.  
  
“Then let’s dig in before it all melts,” Speed smiled, and they both dug in eagerly.

“Hey Speed,” Connor started about fifteen minutes later, halfway through his sundae, “What movies are premiering this week?”  
  
“I don’t actually know,” Speed admitted, checking his (relatively new) phone. “The Academy put up a short list of films, but I don’t know if any of them are worth it.”  
  
“Can I see?”  
  
“Sure.” For a moment, Connor scrolled through the films, before he spotted one and his eyes lit up.  
  
“Hey, that new superhero flick’s premiering next week! _Dawn of Heroes!_ And it has my favourite actors in it!”  
  
“I forgot about that! Wait, lemme see.” If Speed’s heart fluttered when his hand brushed Connor’s, he didn’t dwell on it, focusing on the details for the premiere. “Oh _wow,_ that’s a _lot_ of people.”  
  
“It’s going to be at the Village Theatre, and they’ll be accepting ticket bookings from anyone who is considered ‘famous’. Your _dad’s_ considered famous!”  
  
“Well then, let’s try and book it! Hold up, can you call Lucy and X? I need to know if they’re interested.” Connor saluted, before video calling the two over Discord.  
  
_“Hey guys, what’s up?”_ Lucy grinned.  
  
_“Anything wrong?”_ X asked, though he was also grinning.  
  
“Nah, we just found a movie premiere we might be able to attend if they accept our invite. How do you guys feel about seeing _Dawn of Heroes?_ Connor and I are pretty keen.”  
  
_“I’m down,”_ X and Lucy both answered, before snorting in laughter.  
  
_“Annalise almost certainly won’t want to see it,”_ X added. _“She **hates** superhero films.”_  
  
“Sweet. Uh, X? Can you possibly call up for me? I don’t know how to book anything,” Speed admitted.  
  
_“Sure. I’ll get back to you guys in like two hours. Lucy, have fun at the beach. Speed, Connor—,”_ and X _winked_ as he said this— _“Have fun on your date.”_ The two _immediately_ spluttered in protest, before their friends signed off and they were left feeling _very_ embarrassed, while Chim-Chim almost _cackled_ in the background at their misfortune.  
  
“Sometimes I forget your brother is, well, a brother,” Connor groaned. “We’re not on a date… right?”  
  
“I mean, I don’t know? Do you _want_ it to be a date?” Speed suggested. His friend went bright crimson, before he admitted,  
  
“I don’t know. Can you give me a while to think about it?”  
  
“Yeah, I need to think about it too.” The attendant, having overheard everything, just facepalmed along with Chim-Chim. Boys.

\----

For a few hours after that awkward (and brief), the two of them just wandered around, occasionally stopping to look at cool-looking items, and, strangely enough, occasionally reaching out to touch the other’s hand but shying away at the last second. They bought some interesting things while they were out, too. Speed bought a hand-engraved letter-knife, a photo album for Lucy to use, and a small blue plush bunny with a red mermaid tail. After being affectionately bullied into using Speed’s money, Connor bought items of his own: A reddish leather bound journal, a cool action figure that Speed eventually realised was a figure of his uncle Rex (“What? I don’t own many Racer X figures!” “I know, I know.” He’d found it adorable to be perfectly honest), and two more plushies, both from the same mermaid-tail line — a red dog with a green tail for himself, and a green cat with a blue tail for Lucy.  
  
Eventually, they unexpectedly ran into X and Annalise. Annalise was distracted by something, so X took the opportunity to talk to his brother and their now-mutual friend.  
  
“The booking was a success,” he grinned. “I’ve also already confirmed with the teachers we’ll be out next Tuesday night. Uncle Spritle is coming too.”  
  
“Sweet! I get to meet the stars _and_ see a movie I’ve been looking forward to!” Connor cheered, pumping his fists once before he almost hit something and decided (wisely, for once) it was best to just stop.  
  
“I’ve never been to _anything_ that fancy before,” Speed realised. “What do I _wear?”_  
  
“Spritle said he’d handle it. Annalise offered her wardrobe, but I don’t exactly swing towards women’s clothing.”  
  
“That’s not what you said last night,” Annalise smirked, and all three men choked on their spit, while Chim-Chim dramatically fainted.  
  
“Annalise, we aren’t allowed to speak of that,” X hissed, and Annalise realised that the ‘dweebs’ she liked picking on had _heard_ her.  
  
“Oh. Shit. Tell the teachers X is sneaking out of his room, and I will find a way to _burn you both alive,”_ she threatened. Both Speed and Connor raised their hands in mock surrender.  
  
“I mean, we’ve already got some juicy gossip on Aniskov,” Connor pointed out. “We ran into him at the ice cream parlour we went into. You know what he ordered?”  
  
“No, what?” X laughed.  
  
“And I quote: ‘a large cup with the chocolate chip and candy floss flavours, and chocolate fudge and sprinkles on top’!” They all laughed at that, for once finding common ground despite Annalise being at odds with Speed and Connor, not to mention Lucy.

\----

Eventually, though, the two of them got bored and, after logging their departure with an on-duty teacher, headed back to the resort. Their swimwear had already been washed by the maid service (yes, they had a _maid service_ ), and so the two of them were able to soon sprint down to the beach, where Lucy had long since put away her sketchbook and was now photographing everything in sight. She’d improved a lot since the Comet Run incident, after all.  
  
“Hey guys!” she waved. “About time I see you morons on the beach!”  
  
“My feet are burning!” Connor wailed, Chim-Chim mimicking his hopping actions as he tried to cool down his feet.  
  
“See, this is why I got sandals,” Speed declared triumphantly. “I don’t have to burn my feet!”  
  
“Oh _wow,_ nice shoes!” Lucy marvelled. “Also, did X tell you he got the booking?”  
  
“He did!”  
  
“Well, if you two are going to keep chatting, _I’m_ going to go swim!” Connor yelped, and soon he and Chim-Chim were sprinting into the sea (in sight of the lifeguards, they weren’t _stupid,_ despite evidence to the contrary), both Speed and Lucy cackling as the latter took photographs of Connor yelping even _louder_ at how cold it was.  
  
“Oh my _god,_ that’s the dork I adore,” Speed laughed, before realising what he’d just said and burying his face in his hands. “Oh _god_ I just let that slip right out!”  
  
“Speed, your admittedly obvious secret is safe with me,” Lucy smiled. “Though, if you don’t do _something_ about your crush on Connor, I’ll lock you both in a closet until you _do._ Okay, I’m joking, but you get my drift.”  
  
“I know, and I think he returns, but Luce, what if I’m _wrong_ and me confessing fucks up our friendship?”  
  
“You _do_ know that Connor would _never_ let that happen, right?”  
  
“Yeah, but it’s called an _irrational fear,_ isn’t it?” Speed pointed out.  
  
“... You make a good point,” Lucy deadpanned.  
  
“Look, after you guys hung up earlier, we briefly debated calling it a date, but Connor said he needed more time to think. I don’t know if I fully _got_ what he meant.” He let out a groan. “Why does loving someone have to be such a _nuisance?”_  
  
“Well, at least you’re not interested in Annalise.” They both snorted at that.  
“Okay, you make a good point.”

Connor came in not long after, having decided he much preferred the pool, and so the four of them (including Chim-Chim) headed up to said pool, where a game of pool volleyball was in progress. Most of the students Speed didn’t know personally, since he wasn’t good at social interactions, but he _did_ like trying new sports, so _all_ of them jumped in to play. Professor Winn, floating safely on a custom flotation device, was refereeing.  
  
“Welcome, you three,” she smiled. “Speed, Connor, join Sato’s team. Lucy, join Kirk’s team.” Professor James Kirk was the school’s astronomy teacher. Speed wasn’t allowed to take astronomy yet, but he’d heard nothing but praise for the teacher. Soon enough, the game recommenced, and for several hours until the two-hour warning bell was rung, Speed and Connor put their all into the game. They ended up losing by a small margin, but they didn’t care. All Speed found himself thinking about, as he and Connor farewelled Lucy again and headed for their rooms, was how surprisingly athletic his friend had looked in the pool.

\----

He was still thinking about Connor by the time they ate and got back to bed. The New Racer Trio had made plans to go to Hollywood tomorrow, and yet Speed couldn’t sleep. His mind, unfortunately, was focused on the ginger asleep in the bed next to him. Speed could tell his friend was asleep — he _snored_ — and yet, despite having found it a bit of a pain in the ass when they’d first become roommates, the Racer found it… _endearing._ Hell, it didn’t even keep him awake anymore. Nope, he was just _pining._ That was the right term, right? The unofficial advice teacher, Ms Oxford, said that pining was a natural part of being in love… which he apparently was. Correction: _Absolutely was._  
  
_“Funny. I thought I had a crush on Lucy, but no, it’s Connor,”_ he thought, smiling as Connor accidentally whacked Chim-Chim in his sleep and the monkey robot looked betrayed before going back into sleep mode. _“He’s a complete dork… but he’s my best friend too. And…”_ He blinked. _“God, I **love** him… But when do I tell him that?”_ Flopping over onto his back, Speed came to the unfortunate conclusion that he desperately needed some advice right now. He quickly came to the realisation that he was probably not going to get any.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fact: The ice cream place I mention in this chapter is a reference to Milan Gelateria, a really excellent ice cream place in Caloundra, Queensland. If for some reason anyone reading this is ever in Caloundra, please try the ice cream there!


	3. Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAUGH YOU EVER NOT EDIT SOMETHING FOR AGES
> 
> YEAH THAT'S A COMMON THREAD WITH ME LOL

With the Mach 6 locked safely in the resort garage, Speed, Connor, Lucy, and Chim-Chim all boarded one of the rental buses after breakfast the next day. After some thought, X had joined them as well. All were wearing polo shirts and rolled-up jeans.

“Annalise is hanging out with her friends at the beach, and she said they were doing something girly,” he shrugged. “I honestly don’t care if they think it’s ‘girly’, but Annalise didn’t feel like hanging out with me today.”

“Why, what’d you do last night?” Lucy smirked, and the three younger teenagers snickered at X’s look.

“I hate you all,” he groaned, before shaking his head and smiling. “Nah, I couldn’t. You may be complete and utter _dweebs,_ but you’re nice.” He paused. “Don’t ask why I’m dating Annalise, because I have genuinely no idea how to explain it to you.”

“I’m honestly glad I got over my crush on her,” Connor deadpanned, before adding, “The only problem is _all_ of my crushes are way out of my league!”

“I’d disagree, but that’s because I know something you _don’t,”_ Lucy muttered.

“Well, I’m excited to go see Hollywood,” Speed changed the subject with a grin, having no idea how to respond to any of that. “I saw the photos you sent me from the album.” He laughed. “Mom looked like she was yelling at the Hollywood sign!”

“Yeah, there’s a reason that section is called ‘Out of Context’!” X cackled.

“Quiet,” came Aniskov’s complaint, and the whole bus went dead silent.

“Welp, looks like I’m listening to music until we transfer,” Speed shrugged.

“Hey, mind if I share? I’ve been meaning to hear your music,” Connor grinned.

“Sure.” X, out of the corner of his eye, spotted the two hunching over Speed’s phone and, upon meeting Lucy’s glance, rolled his eyes. Lucy did the same with a fond shake of her head.

\----

“Is that _Funkytown_ playing?” Connor gasped a while later, as they departed from the red and white transport bus and headed for the pink and green tourist bus.

“Oh _god,_ that reminds me, I need to introduce you to _Shrek_ and _Shrek 2,”_ X groaned.

“X, I wasn’t a _complete_ shut-in, I know what those movies are!” Speed cackled, before he and Connor just _vibed_ to the song on the way over to the next bus. After a moment, X joined them, and Lucy just rolled her eyes again as she mimicked their weird, beat-synched walk. Ironically, mostly because X was doing it, a bunch of other students joined them, much to Professor Kirk’s amusement and Aniskov’s annoyance. Eventually, though, they broke off and got into the bus, immediately claiming seats on the coveted open top.

“Wow, I’ve never _been_ to Hollywood before,” Connor cheered. “To think I've _actually made it here!”_

“Connor, it’s literally a day’s drive from the Academy,” Lucy deadpanned. “You could have _easily_ gotten here.”

“Hey, let me be dramatic in peace.” Speed just smiled fondly at his friend’s dramatic nature, before he turned to look around him. He took a deep breath before he said in a peaceful voice,

“What a place we’re in, that I am able to witness beauty of all kinds, that I am able to take a piece of it with me, that I am able to watch it all go by…” There was a moment, when the others just stared at him, before X snorted,

“Shaddup Socrates, it’s a _bus ride,”_ and whacked his brother. That broke the tension, and they all burst into laughter as Speed rubbed his arm slightly. He didn't notice Connor staring at his hands as he did so. Lucy did, though, and facepalmed.

\----

“Pffft, look at this picture of Aniskov. He looks so _done!”_

“He only looked that way because you sent a picture of a hot boy to Annalise, she fangirled over him, and left you so flustered that you made out with your phone background!”

“Lucy, you wound me. Besides, it was Connor who gave him the headache — he wouldn’t stop bounding around like he had _auto-jacks!”_ Connor just pouted in response to X’s words.

“You guys are mean,” he complained. Speed burst into laughter as soon as he saw the pout, flushing a happy pink, before he pointed out with a grin,

“He wasn’t the _only_ one being a dork. Lucy, you wouldn’t stop taking photos of the Hollywood sign!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but I couldn’t help myself!” Lucy grinned. “Come on, we’ve been out here for four hours, and we’re getting lunch at this new Italian restaurant, named after the film _La Dolce Vita,_ or The Good Life.” Quickly, all of the students disembarked and headed for the restaurant. As they walked, Connor asked,

“Hey Speed, am I sunburnt?”

“I dunno, I’ll check.” Manoeuvring so that he was walking behind his friend, Speed glanced at the exposed skin around Connor’s neck— and immediately short-circuited. _“Abort mission, abort mission!”_ his mind blared, but somehow he managed to register that Connor wasn’t burnt, and then managed to stammer, “N-nope, you’re all good!” He paused. “Hey, could you check if I’m burnt, please?” _WHERE HAD THAT COME FROM?!_ Regardless, Connor shrugged and checked him over as well… and _also_ immediately short-circuited apparently, burning crimson and awkwardly stammering,

“Y-you’re good too!”

“Thanks, Connor.” Apparently _both_ of them must’ve been crimson, because X facepalmed next to them and Lucy let out a groan, before X whacked Speed over the head, yelled,

**_“RACE YOU!”_** and began sprinting towards the curb.

**_“GET BACK HERE!”_** Speed yelled, and soon both of them were sprinting. 

“Come on, Connor, we’d better catch up to them before they get lost,” Lucy rolled her eyes, and Connor just let out a giggle before they ran after the brothers. Aniskov meant to say something, but Kirk just put his hand on Aniskov’s arm and laughed,

“Let them have their fun, Armand. You’re only their age once.” Aniskov decided, perhaps wisely, not to respond — Professor Kirk was a bit of a philosopher as well as an astronomer!

Eventually, after they almost ran into a light pole and Aniskov finally yelled at them, they made it to the restaurant, and were soon being led to a private room meant for school classes like theirs. The restaurant, in contrast to the bright, hot Californian sunshine outside, was dark and quite cool, but not enough to make them shiver. Everything was decorated in either a royal purple or a royal red, with golden tassels hanging from _everywhere,_ and many replicated busts of Roman emperors were scattered around the place, with the history buffs in the group laughing at the bust of Nero being on fire. The atmosphere was quite unlike anything Speed had ever seen before.

“Wow, this place makes me both feel like a king _and_ a peasant all at once,” he soon chuckled, admiring one of the busts but not recognising the name.

“I read that restaurants in Hollywood are built to accommodate both the stars of the screen and ordinary people like us, and that this restaurant took it to the extreme,” Lucy commented. “They’ve built similar restaurants in New York, London, Tokyo, and Sydney, but this is the first time the company’s actively tried to appeal to celebrities.” She stopped rather suddenly, as they waited to be let into their dining hall, and gasped. “Oh my god, that’s Katya Quinnstone!” 

“Oh, it is too,” Speed laughed. Katya Quinnstone was the star of one of Lucy’s favourite film series, _The Celestial Navigator._

“I _gotta_ get her autograph. I’ll be right back!” With that, the teen ran off to join the small line of people wanting Quinnstone’s autograph. A sign outside had read that all celebrities who came to the restaurant would allow autograph hounds to ask for their autographs, as their appearances at this restaurant usually meant they were okay with it. As Speed watched his friend go, Connor popped up beside him and said, out of the blue,

“We _really_ gotta find her someone who’s as obsessed with her favourites as she is.” Speed, feeling a sense of fondness and pride for his friend, who some months ago would’ve not cared less about someone apart from Speed’s father, just smiled and realised,

_“I should probably ask Lucy and X when I should confess. I’m not going to survive two weeks without doing it.”_

He got his opportunity ten minutes later, because Connor spotted a celebrity _he_ liked (Emile Phoenix, who’d recently portrayed Speed Racer Sr. in an award-winning short film) and went to go ask for _his_ autograph. Lucy and X both gave him a knowing look, and he flushed crimson.

“Am I _that_ obvious?” he complained.

“Speed, as someone who knows the twins: You are even _worse_ than _they are,”_ X grinned. “Your secret might be safe with us, but it can’t stay that way, can it?”

“No… I don’t know when to confess, and I don’t think I could stand two weeks, let alone the rest of the school year, without telling him.”

“Maybe you could tell him during the party,” Lucy suggested. “That’s a pretty romantic atmosphere.” Speed opened his mouth to object, but thought better of it, and, after he realised that it was a pretty good idea, he nodded.

“Okay,” he laughed, “I’ll tell him then.”

After a _very_ delicious lunch of pasta (Speed got a spicy dish known as _puttanesca,_ while Lucy opted for spaghetti bolognese and Connor got spaghetti with meatballs), it was time to move along again. The transfer bus was available to those who wanted to go back to the resort or elsewhere in the city, but the four of them headed instead for a few streets over. Lucy had read that an excellent second-hand bookshop was located there, and, quite frankly, the three men were happy with whatever. So, feeling very full and very much like movie stars since they had to walk down part of the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, the four of them started off, with purpose in their stride and books as their goal.

The bookstore, known as the Author’s Hollow, sheltered away from the Californian heat in a small alcove, was the second sharp contrast Speed had seen today, though this time it was in contrast to the world they’d just exited. The world of the stars was replaced by one of books, both old and new, stacked even higher than X was tall on the creaking bookshelves. The lady who ran the place, an old woman whose grey hair was woven tightly into a plait that ran down her shoulder, looked up as they came in.

“Oh, some younger customers!” she exclaimed, in a thick but understandable (to the Americans) Russian accent. “Most of my usual ones are around my age!” 

“Your shop here’s quite out of reach,” X chuckled. “If it weren’t for Lucy and her wicked sense of direction, we would’ve gotten lost!”

“I mean, I’m not one to judge, but I think this might be the most extensive bookstore I’ve ever seen,” Speed marvelled, reaching out to gingerly touch some of the books off to the side.

“My late coworker Andreas used to joke that we had a copy of every book in the world,” the shopkeeper smiled. “He’d say, in that wonderful Italian accent of his, ‘Katya, our collection is second only to the Library of Alexandria!’ God, I miss him sometimes. He was a great worker.”

“It’s a pity he’s no longer with us, because he was damn near right,” Lucy gasped, gazing down a long corridor filled with bookshelves. “I could spend all day here!”

“Yeah, and Chim-Chim wouldn’t be allowed to eat any of the books!” Speed teased, and Connor gasped dramatically,

“How _dare_ you accuse my buddy of dishonourable conduct! He would never eat a book!” Chim-Chim, as if sensing the comedic moment, coughed up one of Lucy’s books at that, and everyone facepalmed, laughing at the timing. Eventually, Connor assured, “Don’t worry, Miss Katya, he won’t actually eat one of the books here. Not unless we’ve bought it first.” Beside him, shaking his head as he doubled over laughing, Speed couldn’t believe how adorable his best friend — and potentially mutual crush — was.

They spent quite a number of hours in the deceptively huge bookshop. It was nice and cool as opposed to the hot weather outside, and Lucy was in absolute _heaven_ with the books she was finding, most of which were old science fiction novels, including a lot of _Star Trek._ Over in the extensive fantasy section, X was not-so-secretly finding some raunchy fantasy romance novels, though he was picking up normal fantasy novels that piqued his interest. Speed and Connor, on the other hand, had gone straight to the racing section. Connor ended up picking up an old copy of _Racer History,_ published just before his superstar friend had been born, as well as several of the very first (and very rare) fan magazines published about Speed’s father. Speed, on the other hand, picked up the bookstore’s small collection of racing novels (written by famous drivers like Taejo Togokahn and the Grey Ghost) and then hit what Connor later termed the ‘jackpot’.

“Whoa, these are my parents’ autobiographies!” he laughed, pulling out both books, before pulling out another and adding, “Correction: My parents’ _and_ older uncle’s!”

“Wait, are those _first editions?!”_ Connor exclaimed. “That means… May I please see the one your dad wrote?” Speed handed it over, and Connor opened to the first page of the book, titled (rather fittingly) _Go Speed Racer Go._ Written in blue pen was Speed Racer Sr.’s signature. “The first editions are the only ones that got signed!” Intrigued, Speed glanced at his mother’s own book, titled (also quite fittingly) _Trixie Calling The Mach 5,_ and found his mother’s signature written in that one as well. Finally, opening his uncle Rex’s book _Tales of Agent Nine,_ a final signature — his uncle’s, obviously — was located.

“There is no way I’m leaving these here,” he laughed. “I’m putting these on my bookshelf back at our dorm!”

“Aw man, now I’m sad that I have later editions,” Connor complained, and both of them laughed.

Katya was quite impressed with the amount of books they bought, all of which (even the first edition _signed_ autobiographies) were quite cheap, and so sent them off with a small gift each, for ‘helping to downsize my Library of Alexandria’: X got a _very_ cool-looking fantasy-inspired bracelet, Lucy got a hand-crafted watch (“Hey, I was needing one of these,” she’d laughed), Connor got a pretty red sun hat embroidered in gold (which he immediately put on Chim-Chim, who beeped happily) and a golden Latin-inscribed ring, and Speed got a gold and red fountain pen, housed in a small box and coming with its own set of embroidered paper.

“I can tell by your outfits that you are tourists, so I may never see you again, but I must thank you again for buying from me,” Katya smiled. “I do hope you enjoy the books.”

“We will, Miss Katya. Thank you for letting us browse for so long,” Speed smiled, and all of them farewelled the old woman as they walked back out into the bright Californian sunshine. 

\----

Later that day, after they’d gotten home and had eaten dinner, with the final highlight of the day being Annalise dragging X away to tell her about the day she’d had (much to the amusement of the trio), Speed found himself sitting at one of the few tables in his and Connor’s suite. He wasn’t tired yet, and so he’d decided to break out the fountain pen he’d gotten from Katya. It was filled with a deep blue ink (something Speed had discovered on the way back to the resort while trying the pen out on some spare paper), and came with several refills, as well as an explanation of what ink it used. As Speed looked at the pen, he found himself reminiscing on something from his childhood.

The sisters at the orphanage had been… not that great, but something interesting they’d taught him was how to write with older pens like a traditional fountain pen. His normal writing was, in Lucy’s fond words, ‘chicken scratch’, but his writing with a fountain pen… He was a little out of practice, but soon Speed’s alphabet reminded him of several calligraphy videos he’d seen online. As he practiced again, old habits rising back to the top, he decided something: He was going to write a confession letter to Connor, as well as confess to him verbally. He hoped that if Connor didn't accept his confession, that he’d at least be a little impressed by the calligraphy, and if he did accept it, that he’d understand Speed’s feelings better than if Speed tried to say it out loud. He didn’t notice Connor watching him with a look of utter fascination and _adoration._


End file.
